With most of Silom and Sathorn remaining stagnant amongst Bangkok’s rapidly developing dining scene, Sathorn Soi 10 and 12 have enjoyed almost more restaurant openings in the past two years than the rest of the area put together, and have quickly become one of the hottest places in the city for good food and even better drinks.

Prestige recently visited four of the most talked about locations along Sathorn Soi 10 and 12 to see how many of these spots can hold their own with Bangkok’s best restaurants.

Marcel is the only legitimate Gallic offering on Soi 10, which explains the heavy Francophone crowd when we were there. You’ll find a simple and pared-down menu of tapas and French classics like croquettes, mussels marinière, pork terrine and cheese and charutterie plates. The cocktail menu is equally selective with about six options, mostly classic recipes like the negroni, old fashioned and French martini – not a bad thing. The wine menu holds its own as you would expect from any decent Gallic establishment, and features a beautiful Champagne Duval Leroy Premier Cru that caught our eye.

The Experience

Marcel is known for its intimate vibe and friendly service – both were evident during our visit. Staff were welcoming, attentive and more than willing to dole out recommendations when asked. We visited Marcel towards the end of our evening, and kept things light – munching on an aubergine caviar with Australian mussels and fennel on special that night. Although texturally a little soft, the food was fresh, well prepared and earned nice comments from our table all around. However, it did fall short when compared to the quality of the similarly-priced Bunker down the road. Same story with the cocktails – competitively priced, and good, but missing any real “wow” factor.

The Verdict

It works very well as a quiet wind-down spot after a heavier meal down the road, an intimate place to grab a glass of wine on a date or down a few warm-up cocktails before hitting your dinner reservation. It’s not, however, a place to impress important business clients or host larger dinners.